Gurbani Raag Kanara

The modern name for this raga appears to be "Kanada",
probably a mattcr of transliteration from its original name. Under the Kanara spelling
this raga was prevalent in the classifications of 16th and 17th centuries. However, in
one instance, Kanara and Kanada both appear in the same ragmala. This would indicate
that at one time these were two distinctly different ragas. Kanara was used by Guru Ram
Das and Guru Arjan for 69 hymns, a var, plus numerous slokas. In the Ragmala, Kanara is
a putra of Dipak. The modern Kanada is one of a group of many Kanada ragas which are
combinations of Kanada with other ragas; one of the most popular is Darbari Kanada
classified under the Asavari thata. Assigned to the night hours, its mood is quiet and
full of majesty. Darbari-Kanada is performed in slow tempo and is a popular concert form
today. The details of this raga: Aroh : Sa Re Ca, Ma Pa, Ni Sa

Avroh : Sa, Ni Pa, Ma Pa, Ga Ma Re Sa

Vadi : Pa

Samvadi : Sa

Introduction :

It is a not a very ancient raga. It became famous in the medieval historical period. Tansen, one of
the most famous musician of Emperor Akbar, who was contemporary of Guru Amardas, Guru Ramdas and
Guru Arjan Dev, used this raga in the court of Akbar, thus this raga became famous as Darbari
(court) Kanra.

Kahn Singh Nabha has given 17 variations of this raga:

Darbari

Nayki

Kaski

Varetsi

Nut

Kafi

Kolahal

Mangal

Sayam

Tunk

Nagdvani

Adana

Shahana

Suha

Sughar

Hussani

Jay jayant

This raga is mentioned as a son of raga Deepak in the Ragamala listed at the end of Guru Granth
Sahib.

The scale and notes of the raga are as follows:

Arohi (ascending scale) - sa re ga, ma pa, ni sa

Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni pa, ma pa, ga ma re sa

The vadi (most popular) note is 'pa' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'sa'.

This raga is sung in the first part of the night i.e., 6 p.m. 9 p.m. The season of its recitation is
summer (grikham) i.e., during May - June. In Guru Granth Sahib it has hymns from pages 1294 - 1318
(25 pages).

The Composers:

The composers of bani (hymns) in this raga are:

Gurus

Ramdas

Guru Arjan Dev

Bhagats:

Namdev

The structure:

The sequence of the structure of compositions in this raga are:

Gurubani:

Shabads (2 - 4padas)

Ashtpadis

Chhant

Var

Bhagatbani:

Shabads ( 2 padas)

Matrix

VISUAL ANALYSIS

Count of the use of Managals:

Complete Mool Mantar = 1 at page 1294

Ik-ongkar Satgur Prasadh 15

Placement and count of rahau verses:

In all shabads and ashtpadis the numbered rahau verse are is in the beginning of the
compositions.

In the Bhagat Bani the rahau verses have numerals and are also placed in the beginning of the
shabads.